How did Lauren Smith-Fields die? And will the police take her death seriously? | Nancy Jo Sales

Authorities say the influencer died from an accidental overdose, but her family believes this could be another sad example of the dangers women face from men on dating apps

Lauren Smith-Fields was a beautiful young woman, a former high school track star who was studying to become a physical therapist. She was active on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, posting pictures and videos of herself looking healthy and glamorous. She did not use drugs, say her family members, whose grief over her untimely death is as apparent as the sense that something is missing from the story of her demise, on December 12, at age 23. Her family does not believe that Smith-Fields died of an accidental overdose - as the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has said - and one can't blame them for doubting this ruling.

Smith-Fields's friends and family have publicly wondered if racism may explain why the Bridgeport police were allegedly so careless in their investigation of the scene, saying that detectives failed to collect vital evidence, notify Smith-Fields's family of her death, or rigorously investigate the last person known to have been in her company - the white man she met earlier that evening on a Bumble date. This wouldn't be the first time that someone had been drugged on a dating app date - in fact, it's a serious problem that has gone largely underreported.

Nancy Jo Sales is a New York-based writer. Her latest book is Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno